


Sliding Doors

by magicsophicorn



Category: Primeval
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-25
Updated: 2009-12-25
Packaged: 2018-02-24 18:03:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2591045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicsophicorn/pseuds/magicsophicorn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Claudia returns through an anomaly.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sliding Doors

She watched the fractured light dance with shadows on the ground, twisting and flickering to an endless rhythm, matching her chaotic thoughts.  
  
She had been coming here a lot lately, since it happened.  
  
A voice in the back of her head – the one that had actually paid attention in all the expensive therapy sessions her parents had paid for after their divorce when she was a child – told her it wasn't healthy to keep coming back here, to fixate on the past. Or perhaps the future, it was hard to tell when anomalies were involved.  
  
It might not be healthy but she couldn't seem to stop herself. Every night she would promise herself she wouldn't come, but then the nightmares would appear and she would get up and drive for hours just to sit here for a while.  
  
Of course the others had no clue, she was perfectly made up as always, not a trace of tiredness on her face. Besides, they were all too wrapped up in their own grief to notice hers.  
  
The lone guard never said anything, he was easily bribed with hot food and company, however emotionally screwed up it might be.  
  
There used to be more guards here, even a lab at one time, but nothing had come through the Forest of Dean anomaly for months, and Cutter had gradually stopped pushing for research so of course Lester had cut the unnecessary expense.  
  
She was glad of that though, it made coming here easier for a start, but mostly it meant that he stopped talking about  _her_. He obviously still thought about her. He still looked right through Jenny as though she didn't exist, and she often used to catch him staring at that photo, the one he wouldn't let anyone else see. But as long as he didn't talk about her, didn't call Jenny by her name, then she could pretend that everything was fine, and that she was real. She was a PR goddess after all, lying was her business.  
  
But now that he was gone, murdered by his crazy ex-wife (which said it all really) she was no longer able to convince herself of all those things.  
  
Every night she wondered what would happen to her if she were to step through the anomaly. Would she cease to exist? Not that she was entirely convinced she ever existed in the first place. Would she enter some kind of parallel universe, so close to this one but with Cutter and Claudia happily together? Or would she simply be eaten by a dinosaur, like most people who went through the anomalies?  
  
The only thing she knew for certain was that she would never be brave enough to take that step and find out.  
  
Hot tears stung her cold cheeks, as they so often did when she came here. As usual she didn't try to stop or hide them.  
  
This time, however, through the haze of her tears she thought she saw a shadow moving inside the anomaly. But that couldn't be right, nothing came through here anymore.  
  
She stood up, wiping the tears from her eyes, expecting to see nothing, or perhaps the snapping jaws of a hungry creature. Instead what she saw was herself, like looking in a fairground mirror, but instead of making her taller or fatter it made her hair blonde and her face more worn. She couldn't help a gasp escaping as realisation dawned on her;  
  
“Claudia Brown.”  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Since the day she first stepped through an anomaly she’d had plenty of time to prepare herself for what she might find when she finally reached her destination,  _if_  she ever reached her destination.  
  
She had mentally steeled herself to face a derelict post-apocalyptic future, or a horrifying totalitarian regime, or even complete nothingness. But nothing could have prepared her for the lone woman waiting for her when she arrived, a woman so alike her in almost every detail, but at the same time so clearly different. Still, it made sense actually, now that she understood the anomalies a bit more.  
  
A quick glance around told her she was in the right place, the same place she’d left from so long ago. The presence of the oblivious guard drinking a cup of tea suggested the government or military here knew something about the anomalies, and therefore her mysterious double probably did too.  
  
“I’m looking for Professor Nick Cutter,” she said. Why beat around the bush? She’d already spent so long trying to get here, why waste another second? Not that time really meant anything to her, not anymore.  
  
Her double stared at her, eyes wide, with a flicker of something behind them.  
  
“Nick’s dead,” she said flatly, staring past Claudia into the anomaly.  
  
She had prepared herself for everything she could think of, but it had never once crossed her mind that he might be dead. Even when she imagined arriving at this place years and years in the future he was still alive, not waiting for her with open arms perhaps, but at least alive and well.  
  
All these years, she’d been travelling to find him, and now he was dead. It was all for nothing. She had wasted years of her life chasing a dream, and now what?  
  
Her thoughts crashed around inside her head and she tried in vain to fight the blackness creeping across her vision.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
“Try to understand my position, Miss Lewis. I can’t very well detain her like some kind of zoo exhibit, but I need someone to keep an eye on her. I can hardly trust any of the others to handle anything so… discreet. I think this would be best for everyone.”  
  
“Best for you, you mean.”  
  
Jenny had to fight the urge not to snarl at him. Lester had to realise that what he was asking would probably most probably result in a psychological breakdown of some kind.  
  
Lester sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.  
  
“I wouldn't ask if I had any other choice, believe me Jenny.”  
  
“Fine. She can stay with me. But only temporarily, and I still think this is a really bad idea.”  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
On the first day Claudia didn't even leave her bed, waking only when Jenny brought her food, she would smile weakly and roll over to face the wall.  
  
Jenny found it hard to hate her the way she so desperately wanted to, mostly she just worried about Claudia. She was clearly exhausted and traumatised, God only knew what she’d been through on the other side of that anomaly.  
  
On the second day Claudia nearly gave Jenny a heart attack when she entered the kitchen silently, said “Thank you. For letting me stay here, I mean” before going straight back up to her room.  
  
By the fifth day they had managed to have a whole conversation, mostly about the weather and Jenny’s curtains, but it was a start.  
  
On the seventh day Jenny could no longer stop herself asking what she desperately wanted, no,  _needed_  to know.  
  
“How? I don’t… Just… How?”  
  
“How did I get here? Or how are we… who we are?” Claudia ran a hand through her hair and laughed. “Actually it doesn't matter, the answer’s the same for both those questions. What do you think the anomalies are?”  
  
Jenny frowned. “They’re holes in time, they go to the past or the future.”  
  
“That’s what we thought at first, too. But they’re not holes in time, they’re holes in the universe. Every time something goes through an anomaly it’s not travelling in time it’s travelling into a parallel universe.”  
  
“How do you know that?”  
  
Claudia shrugged. “The more I traveled through the anomalies the more it became obvious I wasn't just travelling through time. But I didn't know for sure until I met you.”  
  
At that Jenny looked up sharply. “What do you mean?”  
  
“Have you seen that film with Gwyneth Paltrow, Sliding Doors?”  
  
Jenny nodded.  
  
“It’s just like that. We make choices, the world changes. If we sat down and went through our lives from start to now I’m sure we would be able to find the exact moments that make the two of us different, even if it’s something as simple as missing a train, like in the film.”  
  
“So what about all the dinosaurs?”  
  
“A world where the asteroid missed earth? Who knows. I don’t have all the answers, this is all just my theories after travelling for so long.”  
  
There was an awkward pause before Jenny found the courage to steer the conversation to the other thing she needed to know.  
  
“How long were you travelling for?”  
  
“Two and a half years. I kept a watch with the date on it, so I could see how long since I had left.” Claudia said, looking down at her hands, “I didn't know anything about the anomalies, it’s by sheer dumb luck that it only took me two and a half years, not fifty.”  
  
“All that for Nick. You must really love him,” the words slipped out of Jenny’s mouth before she could stop them and she looked at Claudia, hoping she hadn't crossed some sort of line.  
  
Claudia’s smile was tight when she answered, “It wasn't all for Nick. Before he even disappeared I… I had these dreams, I saw myself disappear. But I didn't leave right after he disappeared. There were some changes at the ARC without him, I though if I got him back we could put things right. But… He never figured out the dimensions thing? Huh, I really thought he would have.”  
  
“He never stopped thinking about you, you know,” Jenny said hesitantly, not really wanting to show just how much she had come to care about Nick.  
  
“It doesn't matter anyway. He’s gone. I’m not going to try to go back, I might never make it. Anyway there’s nothing there for me. I suppose I’ll just stay here.”  
  
Jenny didn't know what to say to that, she didn't want to push, and so she kept quiet. Claudia didn't let the silence become awkward, changing the subject quickly.  
  
“Anyway, tell me about the others, I want to know how they’re different from the versions in my universe.”  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
“I've called this meeting with you today to inform you that we have a new member joining the team.”  
  
Lester looked so uncomfortable that Jenny had to fight not to laugh, she was really going to enjoy watching him attempt to explain this situation.  
  
“Some of you may remember Professor Cutter talking about Claudia Brown, of course we all assumed that she didn't actually exist, however it seems we were mistaken. Three months ago she arrived through the Forest of Dean anomaly. We have of course kept her under close supervision during this time, and we have come to the conclusion that she would be of great use to our team. She has agreed to join us and I hope you will all make her feel as welcome as you would any other person.”   
  
Lester nodded at his secretary and six heads turned towards to door so sharply they were in danger of giving themselves whiplash.   
  
Claudia entered the room and Jenny watched her carefully, the look of relief and affection when Claudia saw Abby and Connor made Jenny’s insides lurch and she wonder for the millionth time what Claudia had been through and how on earth she had coped.  
  
Claudia sat down next to Jenny, flashing her a quick grin, “Hi Jenny,” she said.  
  
Everyone except Lester stared at them, trying desperately to get their heads around the fact that these two almost identical women were not only sat in front of them but also seemed to know each other.  
  
Jenny wasn't sure whether to laugh or storm out of the room. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Claudia’s lip twitch upwards ever so slightly and realised that she was deliberately playing with the others.  
  
Jenny knew Claudia had a good sense of humour, in the three months they had been living together she had come to know her quite well, but she hadn't expected her to want to play around with the whole ‘twins’ thing.  
  
Jenny looked at her team mates and decided that seeing them looking like, well, like Connor looked on a regular basis, was definitely worth exploring.  
  
“Hi Claudia, nice to see you again.”  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Claudia pushed her carrots around her plate without eating any and Jenny knew there was something on her mind.  
  
“Claudia, are you okay?” she asked gently.  
  
“I need to talk to you about something,” Claudia sighed, “Lester suggested that I should find my own place to live.”  
  
Jenny was surprised to realise that not only had she not even considered the possibility that Claudia might move out, but that she actually didn't want her to. Since her fiancée had left her Jenny had been feeling more and more lonely and isolated with every passing day until Claudia had shown up. At first she had felt uncomfortable around the other woman, but after she had gotten over her initial shell shocked state Claudia had turned out to be fantastic company – intelligent, thoughtful and witty.  
  
Claudia looked at her carefully for a moment, “Do you want me to go? I won’t be offended if you say yes,” she said.  
  
“No I… I quite like having you around,” Jenny replied truthfully.  
  
“And I quite like being around, so that works well,” Claudia said with a grin.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Jenny woke to the sound of screaming and immediately knew that Claudia was having another one of her nightmares.  
  
Without a second thought Jenny slipped out of bed and padded over to Claudia’s room. She entered without knocking and climbed into the bed, wrapping her arms around Claudia and uttering reassurances to wake her up, in what was becoming almost a weekly routine.  
  
Claudia woke and snuggled into Jenny’s arms, sobbing softly. Jenny stroked her hair and rubbed her back and said all the things she always said to calm her friend down.  
  
When Claudia’s breathing finally evened Jenny slid out of the bed to make her way back to her own room, but was stopped by a hand holding on to her wrist.  
  
“Please, don’t go, stay with me tonight? I… I don’t want to be alone.”  
  
“Of course.”  
  
Jenny climbed back into the bed and this time it was Claudia who wrapped her arms around Jenny, holding on to her as though she was afraid of losing her.  
  
Jenny turned to her and kissed her head, and that was how they fell asleep, tangled together as though one couldn't live without the other.


End file.
